Video 34

34. Bhagavad Gita l Chapter 3 Verse 27 l Swami Sarvapriyananda

Oh Vasudeva suitum deivam comes a charnel Ramadan um Dave aqui para maana and um Krishna Monday jagadguru chapter 3 verse number 26 we have done it last time let's chant it please repeat after me chapter 3 verse number 26 now Buddha badum generate Buddha badum generate aghanim karma sangee nam aghanim karma sangee nam Josh I ate cervical Marni Josh I'd cervical morning with Duan yuktah sama children with Duan yoga so much Aaron so it says to the vedantist the enlightened one and also the seeker that do not confuse the ignorant don't go and tell them you are Brahman and there is no action for you you're not the body and the mind encourage everybody in appropriate action in ethical and moral action encourage everybody by doing that action yourself but you remain centered in if you're a seeker in the knowledge that you have gained through Vedanta with the help of your devotion and meditation if you're if a person is enlightened remain centered in the true self in the Atman as pure consciousness as the witness consciousness and that's how you work what's the context context is action spirituality is all very well but what about this world what about our lives in this world that includes monks to see monks we are very clever whatever you done you've given up the world and what exactly does it mean you move from one house to another that one was the house and this is the ashram just change the name it's still eating give up lunch and dinner and now it's Prasad but you cannot give up your existence in the world as long as one has an embodiment as a body and mind one exists in some form of the other so what is the wise way of living some people may be very good on this philosophical side of it may be very devotional but they find life very turbulent and we difficult to cope with so that practical wisdom how to manifest one spirituality in one's day-to-day life which vary but it is whether it's in the ashram or at home or in the office or in school wherever it is one a Christian pastor here in New York said that in every congregation you will find some people who are so heavenly they are very heavenly but no earthly good so every vacant the game talks on practical Vedanta so one monk humorously in India a friend of mine he said do you know what practical Vedanta means if you ask that monk to do something practical he'll give you a Vedanta talk that's practical with answer no action is therefore for those who are not at all interested in in religion or in materialistic engaged in the world of course there is action for those who are interested in religion who are spiritual seekers yes there is action your life is there you have to lead that life those of you he says to Arjuna if you consider yourself enlightened then too there is action the difference is that the enlightened ones act for the welfare of others why should if I'm enlightened why should I do anything in this world at all am i it isn't doesn't it mean freedom yes freedom at a spiritual level at the level of the body and mind when you are as long as you're part of the world you are engaged in the world so locus and raha locus Angra means welfare of the world welfare of others because I sometimes mention the name of RAAM soup - tea who was this sad who hurried in sorg ashram near rishikesh he was an expert on the gita expert is not quite the right term he was immersed in the bhagavad-gita so these little things he would tell for spiritual practice they're so useful very inspiring so in this verse when he's talking about it he says something very simple he says that a spiritual seeker should not do anything for oneself sada co-op nearly a cuchini cannot say but that's literally true almost literally true if you're a monk and the most you need to beg for your food maybe or even that comes to you that's it but if you're somebody in the world apparently you're still doing something but that's just the place the office and the family and the situation you are placed in you're taking care of that but really you're not invested in that you know that you're real that yours real sustenance your real goal is God so nothing in the world is really done for myself and yet you are doing things in the world you are - it becomes a service to humanity now this is verse number 26 I had stopped there on purpose I had stopped there on purpose because the next two verses 27 and 28 are very important in verses 27 and 28 Sri Krishna explains as far as the world is concerned as far as action is concerned as far as our Co TD and day-to-day life is counter concerned what is the difference between the ignorant and the enlightened what is the difference between the person who has not realized the truth and the person who has realized a hum Brahma asked me what's the difference in these two verses the essential teaching of Vedanta is there and it's practical implication for our life so it's connection to our day-to-day that is there in these two verses what happens when I do not have this knowledge when I'm not enlightened and what happens when I have this knowledge I am a seeker I'm trying to establish myself in this knowledge or I am already enlightened what's the difference that's that's shown here before I go on it says Joe shade servic Armani withdrawn you could touch some archeron the enlightened one should encourage everybody else in their activities doing so himself or herself continuously doing so all activities continuing all the activities oneself the remaining yuktah means remaining centered centered in in the reality I was just reading some beautiful reminiscences of Swami primal primal energy who was a disciple of sri ramakrishna Babu Ram Mirage he was the first manager of Baylor Mott a wonderful Swami if you read his life story it's so inspiring I often say when you read the life stories of these great Saints of these enlightened beings that's actually the real commentary on these verses that's the real expression of what does it mean when you see it in life actually how how's it actually done a simple thing enlightened being encouraging everyone to do whatever is necessary by one's own personal example so the reminiscence is very simple some some monk who was a young monk at that time and who saw Swami pre-miranda he said swamp Ramon they would get up at 3:30 in the morning like all the other young monks and novices in the ashram in bel-air much in the main main monestery every day he would take particular care the remains incident like this he would take particular care to make sure everybody was doing their meditation japa and meditation properly by doing so himself he would come and sit with them and then there would be classes on scriptures on texts Vedanta texts he would encourage everybody to study and discuss these things by doing so himself he says he would come in to come and attend all the classes he would sit there and he would answer the questions of the people who were there but you see this leading by example all the time does that Swami really need to study with anta texts anymore no primal indigenous of different category altogether he's fully enlightened is Jeevan Mukta does that Swami need to come to the evening prayers and morning meditation that Swami's natural state of mind is meditation itself but no it is for the sake of the all the others the youngsters who have come to become monks so there he is encouraging them to do what monks should do to get up early in the morning to meditate devotional practices service study all of that now let's go to verse number 27 27 and 28 27 Prakriti kriyamanani Prakriti kriyamanani gunaih karmani sarvasah goony karmani sarvasah ahankara the mood Atma hunkered of him or Atma committeeman yachty committeeman yachty all work all activities are done by prakruti I'll explain everything through its gunas what is practically what a goodnes wait all in due time through its gunas but deluded by the ahankara the ignorant one thinks that I am the doer alright this is the meaning of the verse remember what's happening krishna is explaining the earlier verse how does the unenlightened person the ignorant person act in the world and thereby gets trapped into samsara and how does the enlightened one work and which is an instruction to us how should we live in this world so this is the teaching why these verses are important not only they contain the essence of vedantic teaching a traitor teaching the contain the essence we'll see but they also give us the practical pointer how do we implement it in our day to day life how does it manifest in our life first of all before we go into the the secret the central teaching practically look at the lives of enlightened beings and the lives of ordinary people the difference in action becomes so obvious when you look at the lives of of course we Ramakrishna Swami Vivekanand or the holy mother but also the direct disciples and all the great devotees and monks I have seen in my life till today and the life of the average person in samsara such a big difference in action what they are doing when they are sitting in meditation I don't know it's somebody dozing or is somebody in Samadhi who knows but I know them I can see them in action the test is in inaction when you actually see them in in samsara so many beautiful examples I have seen where where does one start no action is too high or too low no activity no work Swami Vivekananda once in the early days of the Bowness tree some of the direct disciples grumbled and complained about one of the brothers that he is studying too much wadn't and not doing the household chores I have a suspicion to a Swami or Baron and but anyway it's that's not mentioned but so then they complain to Swami Vivekananda that the pots and pans are not being watched and Swami Vivekananda's said if one of your brothers wants to study and master bedankt let him do so you should be happy where are those pots and pans are how many pots and pans do you have give them to me I'll wash them I'll clean them and he did he did it himself till the others were ashamed I don't know what effect it had on that monk but definitely the others so no work is too high or too small we himself I know this in you know by small incidents you know it's when the small activities this professor of philosophy in India he said when he was a kid a schoolboy he actually saw Vivekananda he was a professor of philosophy and was up for pouring and what's in Bihar now he actually saw there a calendar he used to study in this school in a place called day ochre and Swami Vivekananda visited they over by the time is already very well known and they said that our school teacher said the famous Swami Vivekananda's visiting we should all go and see him and so all the school kids they were taken out in their best uniforms and this boy who's written the reminiscence he said I had a new pair of shoes so I put them on and we went to see vivica and then Vivekananda was coming out of the place where he was staying and he was going Sid I'm going to take a walk walk with me and so the school boys walked with him and Swami Vivekananda pointed to my shoes and just pointed this way now my laces were not done properly so I didn't understand I just looked stupefied and and he stared up at him and then the great Swami Vivekanand the net went down on one knee and undid my laces and did them properly immediately and and got up and started walking and he says that that day when I went back to the dorm I couldn't take off my shoes till late in the night because people kept trooping into my room to see the famous pair of shoes which had shoelaces had been done retired by vivek around himself just such a tiny incident work no work is too high too low I have seen monks tremendous work from morning till night get relaxed and happy and serene the reason is as ram soup does she said never do anything for yourself since they're not doing anything for themselves they are not getting anything out of it personally that gives them a tremendous sense of freedom Swami Vivekananda said do not work like a slave work in freedom one one technique of one one of the features of working in freedom is the one who does less than what is expected is a slave the one who does what is expected is the honest person who is giving back to society but what is expected but the one who gives more than what is expected that one is working in freedom work in freedom Sri Ramakrishna taught the holy mother he said when I was suffering from cancer he told her when I'm gone how should she live see it's one thing she said never put your hands out like this never ask always like this that means you're always giving that is the attitude of the enlightened person you might think what have we got to give a smile a little bit of good behavior a few positive thoughts into just and just your they say that if you the Franciscan Order had this rule that if you had a glum face you're not allowed to go out into the world that day so intense activity activity for the sake of others activity done in peace other the people normally work in samsara for getting happiness the enlightened being works out of happiness somebody told me that we struggled so much and even in this country it's the real struggle is you you don't feel secure you have to keep on working and working so that you can accumulate more it's not so much greed as a sense of how much is enough not to satisfy one's greed but at least just to feel secure the enlightened person feels secure all the time it works out of a sense of complete security not to become secure nothing in the world is there that you can add to yourself which will make you more secure nothing really so practically when you look at the lives of spiritual seekers and in advanced spiritual seekers I mean I could give so many examples okay let me give it I'm tempted to so I'll spend a little time giving two or three examples small examples there's this Swami I know later on he became the president of the Ramakrishna order Swami Gahanna and the G at that time he was the general secretary of the order one of the calmest persons I've seen he was he was the head of one of our most troubled centers at that time when the Communists were in power in West Bengal and one of our hospitals was always under siege by unions and strikes and so and so forth and this Swami was the head of that Hospital and there are times when he was surrounded by slogan shouting union members sometimes he was being shoved around physically always come there's a lawyer who did some law legal work for our rush rooms there and I met him once very senior very well-known lawyer of Bengal you know he told me that you know how I became attracted to your order to the Ramakrishna movement or not that swami ghana and at that time the swami was head of that hospital and there were a lot of labor troubles going on there the Communists were trying to take over the things I said yes I know well at that time there were these group of there was this group of troublemakers who were creating a lot of problem for the institution and the Swami decided to you know fire them you might think that's what's the big deal it's a big deal it's not a big deal here in the United States but it's a very difficult to fight at least it was at one time very difficult to fire somebody from a job and in that circumstance in those days the laws where they're very difficult to you know so no matter what the worker did it would be very difficult to remove him from the job anyway so the Swami had to prepare a case against the workers and the lawyer said I would sit with the Swami and with late into the night working out the details in them and they will was political pressure coming in from political leaders threatening the Swami don't don't fire them hold let them abstained in their jobs because they had gone to their political masters including a call the lawyer told me including a call from the D then Chief Minister of West Bengal Jyoti Basu don't fire those workers politely politely a call from the chief mister carries a huge amount of weight and the Swami quietly dealt with all of that he would deal even with the people who were threatening who were rough who were polite who were sophisticated with the same gentleness he dealt with all but firm no question of shifting from that position and they finally did it and those workers were removed all right this the lawyer said months passed a couple of months later the Swami called me back I said you know we have to do some work what's the work we have to take those people back what's wrong we worked so hard - they're troublemakers and we worked so hard and you refused all those big people thinner and we worked so hard to get it done and then now they're out it's done I said yes but you know they have families and they're suffering children up there in their families and I can't bear it we didn't work out something let's get them back and this lawyer said that was the day I was sold net this is this man is a saint and from that day onwards he has become so anyway look at the heart and look at the engagement he's a monk to do hour after hour day after day what will boring legal work and finally get this thing done seems to have nothing to do with his spiritual monastic life but he does it all as worship and yet with what heart his real concern is for the person and not for legal niceties and things like that not for politics on not even for how they have treated him not even for that my personal interaction with him was a few times one little incident just the opposite this is a big issue now let me give you a small issue very small tiny incident but which I was witness to where he visited our ashram where I was a brahmacari I'm just a newcomer and because the Swami is coming is a big swami we had to make things right you know like arrange the room and everything and one of the young monks of my age he was in charge of the maintenance and the water so he decided to go all out and he got new fixtures and he picked fix the pipes and it and so when the Swami came this big Swami who's our revered guest I think he at that time was the vice-president of the order he comes in and he goes to take a shower and he's standing there in his towel and there's no water because he's done such a good job that if there's no water coming anywhere alley it was working at this now nothing works very calmly so by the time my friend rushed in horror when he heard what was happening he rushed that he's found a Swami sitting quietly with his with the towel around his waist and with a faint smile on and the others were so upset and running around here and this might seem to a very small thing but it shows it reminds me of another Swami Swami locatio Ananda who was very famous for his absolutely even temper remember these are not monks sitting in meditation in in mountains they're in the midst of intense action imagine running a 500 bed hospital in the midst of strikes and union action and all of that and you are being abused and there's a Indian word I don't know there is English translation gear out surrounded by agitating shouting hostile people and still remaining calm the same thing with Swami location did you I've heard he is the head of this very big Institute in in Calcutta it's known as the Institute of culture in Kolkata and at that time again the same problem with the unions and communists and all and somebody heard that there was going to be a procession of communists coming who will sort of break into the Institute and you know create mayhem there so one of the monks said to the Swami Swami Lokesh Rhonda should I inform the police we can get police protection and the Swami said no police and one the next day there was a protest outside the Institute and there was a group group of people shouting and they heard a big crash and they rushed into the Swami's office where he was sitting and working he was right in those days no email or anything writing a letter somebody had thrown a rock through the window and the window was smashed and the rock was inside on the carpet the Swami was writing a letter he looked up saw the rock and went back to her right he just said no police so deep calmness in the midst of intense action Swami bhootish Ananda ji who was the 12th president of the order he used to go he was the head of our ashram in Raj code used to go to people's houses to collect money for the ashram now you see for a deep and sincere spiritual seeker it's actually a painful thing to go and ask for a little bit of money here and there and there but you're doing it for the Lord for the for the work of the ashram not for yourself at all he went to this very rich person's house who would give money to religious organizations and he found these beggars waiting outside for the handout he stood in queue and the person inside was sitting and he asked the Swami from the Ramakrishna was supposed to come and meet me today why isn't he here and his people went out looking and they found him in the queue of a beggar sitting in the caves here and they rushed and pulled him inside and says Swami what are you doing there so no they have come to ask and I have come to ask - so I mean I'm waiting in my Linh line these I know these are not a very arranged presentation but this gives you little ideas of the mentality behind the work being done by an enlightened person or a or sincere spiritual seeker there is no personal no axe to grind there is working in complete freedom all right now this is on the surface what's the secret behind it all the secret is this the I sense Who am I that can mean two things here's the core of valent and how do we apply it to our work our day-to-day lives the sense of I can can mean two things one is the sense which Shri Krishna calls a hung car he uses the word a hunk or of a move Atma the one deluded by ahankara what is the Sanskrit word ahamkara mean it literally translates into ego what do you mean by the ego it means the sense of when you say I normally the way we use i-ight meaning this person here this body this mind this person this narrative this personal story I am this this use of I is called a hunk are that which identifies me with my body and with this body and mind a little clarification here when you say ego in English or in Sanskrit ahankara the word a hunk are in sanskrit has the analogues in almost every indian language we immediately misunderstand why because there is another sense in the in the way the word ego is used or a hunka is used in the sense of a proud person Arab person you know someone who has a security complex what we call the person is very egotistical but here it is not meant in that sense here it's meant in a philosophical or a psychological sense here it simply means the simple feeling of I which we all get right now we are getting it and we can say things like I am sitting here I am speaking or I am listening there is no no arrogance involved here there is no pride or superiority complex involved here it's just a psychological fact I there's a feeling of I and that feeling is deeply associated with this person not with anything else this feeling of I which is associated with one body and mind to which all the others are other not me that is called a hunk ARRA it is nothing to do it e egotism or pride or whose opposite you know the person you should not be go to stick one should be humble that's a different thing altogether that's that depends on that's our about our mental attitudes but this is a simple psychological fact quite neutral in all our activities we have this sense of a hung car which reports what we are in this body and mind which and there is a technical definition in Vedanta what is an car a be Mahatma kentuc karana Bertie ahankara the function of the mind which is which has the function of appropriating or identifying that which appropriates to itself all the activities of body and mind the body is walking I am walking here I'm seeing something I am seeing things memory is working I remember or I cannot remember intellect gets something I understand a desire arises I want you see the same eye is appropriating to itself how cloud of activities going on around it that is called a hunk are so that's one meaning of I and that's the meaning we are all used to and that's what she Christian is pointing out a hunka of amor Atma the one deluded by a hung car what's the other meaning of I that is the Atma or Sakshi witness consciousness all our Vedanta they don't look so puzzled you're not hearing it for the first time all our Vedanta is to take us from the sense of ahankaara to the witness consciousness so remembered Rick the Chevy Vega the eyes are seeing the form the mind experiences the eyes eye the consciousness experience the mind the mind is different from the moment you separate the mind from the witness awareness so that is the Sakshi that's no longer a hunk ara you are even the witness of the eye the eye is a function happening in the mind we are aware of it and it's nothing strange it's just to be like we we miss it all the time right now if we look into ourselves we will feel the eye what is feeling the eye there that is the witness consciousness and you can never objectify it the I can be objectified the feeling of a hunka I can be objectified that's what enables Shankar Acharya to sing mono Buddha hunka Rajasthan in our if you translate that I am NOT the mind I am NOT the intellect I am NOT the memory and not the ego fair enough if you look closely you might say wait a minute what did you say I'm not the mind intellect memory fine I am not the ego it's literally saying I am not I what I is there and how can you truly said say I am not I what is then what is the difference between the two eyes not these two eyes vertical what is the difference between the two eyes one is the pure witness the pure consciousness pure subject again be careful with these words I have seen people are often misunderstand when I say pure consciousness many people think Oh something like not thinking bad thoughts no no not like that pure consciousness is consciousness without any objective constituent where I am that that which is a of everything but of which you are not aware and that which lights up everything but it itself cannot be lit up that which is which objectifies everything but itself can never be objectified that is pure consciousness what you get by the rig Tricia we wake up what you get by the method of the five sheets physical body here prana and it's out I can't show you the thoughts unless you're a telepath the thoughts in the mind that is the mental body and the intellect which is understanding all this it's the big annamaya kosha push beyond that you'll get a blankness that is the Arnon the maya kosha the five sheets physical sheet vital sheet mental sheet intellect sheet and the Bliss sheet in that context I would explain but what I'm saying is the witness consciousness the witness is the witness of all of these five sheets it's the anchor very strong car it's in the mind and intellect it's in the intellect actually so the that is the anchor and that's also a function of the mind or function of the intellect that pure consciousness that's the meaning of the eye which krishna is teaching which Vedanta is teaching Vedanta is saying you are actually that witness consciousness not the ahankara you are actually Sakshi witness consciousness not ahankara what's the difference the Sakshi the ankara subject to change monkara subject to change you see how it works is this let me give you the sort of draw draw picture mentally Sakshi is pure consciousness that's the real self think of it as a light it's not a light not a physical light you won't start glowing again I'm reminded of because spiritual people do glow so I'm reminded of little story I read about Swami prema and I again because I was reading his diamond offenses so the person who write says that when he would come down after the worship of Sri Ramakrishna everyday in bewilderment it would be a sight to see one day I was standing at the foot of the stairs and the temple and he came down after the worship and his face was you know sir he was very fair surveys had become red and was literally glowing with an unearthly light and I looked stunned at him the person who's writing says he says I look stunned at him and I said you do not belong to this world he looked at me and he smiled and he said neither do you so that's a globe yes but the pure consciousness is not that blue because you just think of it as a light which lights up everything now that light lights up the mind and this lit up mind is what we are experiencing as awareness right now let me repeat that but the true true Atman the true-self pure consciousness witness Sakshi all of these words I'm using indifferently that one lights up the mind right now and what we experience as the mind is mind plus that reflected consciousness pure consciousness real you what you are experiencing now each of us within ourselves right now mind plus reflected consciousness it's like real face and I hold a mirror here and what will I see not only a mirror I will see my face in the mirror what face is that not the real face it's a reflected face so I'm seeing two things mirrored plus reflected face when we look into our minds what you are experiencing there as a variety of thoughts feelings emotions memories desires continuously changing but also awareness all of those thoughts feelings memories are lit up by awareness oh is this awareness pure consciousness is this the Atman am i enlightened no that's the reflected consciousness in sanskrit saab hasa saab hasa means Abaza means shadow sabha so means with shadow or with reflection mind with reflections are Hasan Turner if that is the technical phrase a modification of the mind with the reflection of consciousness that sounds awfully dry and technical that's all that we know of life everything that you ever experienced is a modification of the mind with the reflection of consciousness think about it what you are seeing hearing smelling tasting know Swami I'm looking at you so that's in that's the experience we are having yes but what what's happening light is falling on my body and then it's going to the eyes from your eyes through the nervous system it goes to the brain and somehow operative words somehow that is now becomes an image a picture that you see in your mind that picture which you are seeing in your mind that's all that you are seeing there's nothing else you don't see the electrical activity in your brains you don't see the nerves you don't see actual light coming nothing none of that all that we experience is what is there in our minds and whatever is there in our minds is a modification of the mind with awareness this is a it's called internal tea and there the reflection of awareness is shining there so this is what's going on and this is where this is this this thing is called a hunk are the ego functions at this level it is the one which sees here smells tastes touches things remembers the technical name for this is the knower ego with the mind becomes the knower Sanskrit pramatta so there's a distinction between pramatta and Sakshi the knower and witness this mind nor together with the organs of action now claims I walk I talk I eat I drive and all of those actions that no one now becomes the doer the agent Sanskrit Carta and doing action brings a result from the world I have cooked now I can eat becoming the eater in Sanskrit bhakta either just not physically just eating food seeing hearing smelling tasting touching all the inputs from the world when it effects us when we begin to enjoy or suffer that is called bhakta in English experience or enjoy or suffer or whatever so none of these are the real you real use the witness of all of these that witness consciousness reflected in the mind becomes nor pramatta doer Carta enjoyer or sufferer bhakta pramatta Carta permit occur table booked all of these are activities of a hunger of the ego so this is the distinction now what follows Sakshi never changes a hunka is always associated with change moon reflected in water the moon itself may not be changing but then when the water goes into waves you will see the reflection is changing similarly consciousness reflected in the mind the mind is always going through changes and you feel either reflected consciousness that one that ahankara I am hungry now I am full I am ill now I am better I am in pain I am enjoying myself change change change continuously and this this doer and enjoy or suffer this is called some sorry the one in samsara always trying to improve its situation never succeeding just a little more I'll be alright never guaranteed you'll never be alright and the Sakshi it's never as I'm sorry it's always perfectly alright it's always alright this is the distinction between the witness consciousness Sakshi which we are already and what Vedanta says is understand this clearly and see it for yourself and see it for yourself because it's continuously available you don't have to become even the words witness else lightly misleading because we if you don't hear carefully we go away with the impression is that we are being told to be witnesses no you are already a witness you practice being a witness that still dehang Cara see the even spiritual practice is done by the uncle a little more enlightened kind of anchor it becomes a spiritual seeker oh I will not be engulfed by samsara anymore I must become a seeker of God realization now earlier I was running around madly in the world and trying to be happy because with money and fame and pleasures now I'm trying to be happy by meditation and prayer and service still Ankara better better Ankara much better but not the Sakshi yet the enlightened person knows that I am this action for I for the enlightened person refers to Sakshi for everybody else the materialistic worldly person and the ignorant as yet ignorant but still spiritual spiritual seeker but as yet ignorant even for that person I refers to a Hong Kong so this is the difference what krishna is saying the enlightened the enlightened person should act should do all activities knowing oneself to be the Sakshi and yet work through the body and mind will the enlightened person still have a hunger will then rise in person still have ego here is something to be understood carefully answer is absolutely yes why not but sometimes there were the love a the baby read spiritual texts and we hear things destroys the ego goes beyond the ego and ego is the enemy kill the ego and then you are free true I'm going killing the ego going beyond the ego it simply means transcending the ego simply means knowing I does not refer to the ego I refers to Sakshi that's all it means the ego function of the mind will continue why not why not of course it will continue enlightened person has a body or not look at that clearly they have bodies if the body is functioning body is there so heart is functioning lungs are functioning kidneys functioning good brain is also functioning good that means the person has a mind enlightened persons a mindless they have brains but no minds no even when I've given a talk no mind but there no mind means you're not identified with the mind the mind is an object and instrument I am NOT it that's what it means so mind is there if mind is there will memory will be there or the enlightened person means amnesiac no memory no memory will be there intellect will work memory will everything will work and a little better than everybody else but the ego there is also seen as it clearly as a function of the mind as then and not really me not really me this is the difference between enlightened person and an ignorant person that's all and that's a very big difference those who have attended classes Andhra Grisha Vivek I will know a question is raised there what is the relationship of the reflected consciousness what is the relationship that are the reflected consciousness with three things one with the body reflected consciousness and body what is the relationship second with the mind and third with the real self pure consciousness what is the relationship wide why is this question important because the last and the final thing that we can catch in our our present experience is the reflected consciousness you can do it right now notice here is the body and look within thoughts feelings or and aware of those thoughts and feelings that awareness is the reflected consciousness that's the last thing we can catch anybody if you're just a little anybody can understand the body look inside anybody can understand the mind more or less and if you make a slight distinction between the fleeting thoughts and feelings and the sense of being aware you are beginning to understand what the reflected consciousness is that is called Chi da hua's or AB Haas of the shadow of consciousness stay there now the question is being asked what's the relationship of that consciousness with this body what's the relationship of that contraflexure consciousness with the mind thoughts feeling your mind and what's its relationship with the real self which pedant is talking about because if you could understand that then you can go from the reflected consciousness back to the real self what is the relationship the relationship with the body it says karma jam it's bound to Karma as long as your karma is there this body will live prod up the Karma is their body will live and you will that reflected consciousness will continue to identify with this body when caprera up the curve of this body is exhausted this body will die which we call physical death and then the reflected consciousness along with the mind travels to other bodies and they'll be rebirth and then you that consciousness will call a new body this I am this no longer that's and that's not me what they burnt or buried or whatever that's not me I am this new baby I am now within this so the relationship between you the awareness and that body which you call your body is a relationship of karma as long as karma is there that reflect reflected awareness will call it it's my body that's there you can't do anything about it and you change one day when the Karma is gone a new body comes nothing to be done there second what's the relationship between the mind and it reflected consciousness if it's like asking what's the relationship between your reflected face in the mirror what's the relationship between the reflected moon and the water what's the relationship it says aha Jam natural if there is a reflector there will be a reflection if there's a mirror there'll be a reflection if there is water you can see your face there or the Sun will be reflected there there is no way of separating the two reflected face and mirror they are together they stick together you can't separate them if you take away the reflector no reflection will be there but as long as you are there and the reflector is there there will be a reflected face as long as the mind is functioning consciousness is always lit up there will be a reflected consciousness suppose you take the mirror away no reflected phase suppose the mind falls asleep no reflected consciousness that's why deep sleep seems to be the state unconsciousness it's not unconsciousness no reflected consciousness this consciousness which we are aware of right now that disappears in deep sleep it's there in waking it's there in dream but it disappears in deep sleep are you with me you're all eager waiting for you you're right the third question is the most important one that's the question which leads to enlightenment relationship between awareness and the mind is natural as long as mind it functioning you will feel awareness when mind stops that reflected awareness will disappear but now the real question this Atman this witness consciousness Sakshi you are talking about what's its relationship with this reflected consciousness which I am feeling what's its relationship and Wrigley Chevy Vega says brontë Jane iam no relationship the only relationship is foolishness stupidity there is no really what is the real relationship between the face and the reflected face nothing the reflected faces in the mirror it has no physical connection directly with your original face whatever happens to the reflected face nothing happens to your real face whatever happens to the reflection of the of the Sun in a little puddle nothing happens to the real Sun there's really no physical connection between physics will see light is there it doesn't matter that is different this is different it seems to be a connection because of ignorance brontë means error how do you remove this error what is the error but remember the nature of the error I am this this is my error how do you remove this error by knowledge what knowledge by knowledge of yourself as the witness once the reality is known the reflection can continue to appear you will not be confused anymore once I know my real face is this one not the one I'm seeing in the mirror then the mirror can be there reflected face can be there there can be concave mirror they can be convex mirror different kinds of faces will be deaf I know it has nothing to do with me my face is here similarly the witness consciousness but little step from the hair reflection back to you it's not so difficult really it's not really so difficult one teacher said the in that that intuition that comes easily that doesn't that does not come it is not too difficult but stability takes time again very careful stability in what stabilizing yourself as the witness no the witness you and as the witness you are always table you always wear when you had never heard of do such things also you are always the witness without any problem at all as Swami premarin they said he said you are not of this world and neither are you you are spiritual beings right now as much as Swami pre-miranda the why is he gluing I am NOT going it's just that we don't know it and we think we are this mess called a body mind so that little step that takes time yes yes everything else is also nothing different from that witness consciousness see Sankhya is very strong in the bhagavad-gita what is Sankhya it separates consciousness from nature from prakruti what's the last thing in nature what is nature this world we're coming to the worst now this world this body even the mind the last thing in nature is the hunk are at the I sense the most subtle thing there - there are two things there there is a function of the mind and the reflected consciousness that's the the finest the tip this the spearhead of nature that's the last thing beyond that is the transcendent is divinity God Purusha whatever you call it you the real you now all of this we are in a big in a position now to understand Krishna what he is trying to say here Prakriti kriyamanani gunaih karmani sarvasah the word Prakriti every sanction word it means nature material nature technically prakriti's in in Sankhya and that has been borrowed by Vedanta is made of three things what is practically after all the seed state of nature from which entire universe has come the cause the causal state from which the entire universe has come what's it made of what's the seed made of in Sanka the three gunas sattva rajas tamas and i will not go into the details it's a big thing in Sankhya and in gita also three three gunas if the seed is made of the three gunas the constituents very briefly Thomas is the force of inertia and darkness Rajas of dynamism activity desire sub-12 stability serenity light these three are the constituents of prakruti and therefore all the products of Prakriti they are made of these three so when he says prakruti and guna ha guna here means the products of prakruti what are the products of Prakriti the products of prakruti are stars and planets and quarks and atoms and all of this end this chair and table and these buildings and our bodies and our senses and our minds mind is also material according to Vedanta Sushma it is subtle matter body is called stool a gross matter but it's also matter why is why would you call it matter what's the way to distinguish Vedanta is a very elegant way of distinguishing consciousness and matter anything that you can experience is matter I'll repeat that very elegant definition anything that you can experience is matter so you experience this book you can see it you experience even your own eyes you can touch it I can open it and close do you experience even a thought that's also matter book is matter eyes are matter thought I am seeing a book that's also matter because you are experiencing it as an object so all of this is matter up to this even the finest of thoughts even the subtlest of thoughts is matter goona means matter all the products of Prakriti prakriti's matter product separate treaties also material and here when krishna says all work all activity in our lives is done by the products of Prakriti Prakriti guna he karmani sarvasah kriyamanani all activities are being done in our life everything that's going on in our lives is being done by the products of Prakriti which product celebrity is interested in body mind here specifically the ahankara the ego which connects you to the body mind so all of these are products of practically not you a hunka Ravi Mahatma the the self here deluded by a hunka-hunka means that which identifies you with this body mind thinks I am the doer and therefore gets caught in samsara becomes pramatta nor curta doer bhakta enjoy or suffer some sanity and that's all that one knows oneself to be who knows this it's the it's that same pure consciousness remember even when the body and mind are acting prakriti's acting you are seeing hearing smelling tasting doing action enjoying and suffering pure consciousness the witness consciousness is there without it none of this would be possible consciousness is always there when the light is shining when the microphone is amplifying sound electricity is there when it was in the box this gadget did not amplify sound when the bulb was in the box it did not shine electricity is not the microphone electricity is not the bulb electricity is not even the function of the microphone which is amplifying sound electricity is not even the function of the bulb which is to shine and give light but without electricity none of this would be possible none of this would be possible similarly consciousness in itself is not a knower it's not something that sees here smells tastes or touches but without that consciousness there is no seeing smelling hearing nothing so that that shining everything else shines in the language of Upanishad Tom Ava Bantam annuity sarvam that shining everything else shines the Sahara server madam the party by its light its light what are you talking about I'm talking about you by your light you shining everything else shines by your light everything here is literally everything here means first the mind is lit up then the senses are little so then this body mind complex through that you light up the world light up the world means you experience the world see hear smell taste think about it understand love a desire all the activities of body and mind are like the bulb shining or the microphone amplifying sound but they're made possible because of the presence of you the witness consciousness this lighting up that's what the witness consciousness does the point is even then we think of ourselves as an ego connected with the body and mind even then the witness consciousness is there to think even to make a mistake I am in samsara I am suffering I have so many problems even to think that and feel that that witness consciousness is necessary without that light nothing else is possible so you that is always present and that gives us hope in whatever experience we have worldly experience religious experience Shankaracharya commences karmani work all activities are performed by consciousness he says loci Connie Shastri our nature all spiritual like all religious activities and worldly activities all of them are performed because of the presence of that light through the ego but not knowing oneself to be the witness consciousness limiting oneself to being only the ego and identified with body and mind one becomes the doer car Tahoma team annuity that witness consciousness itself not knowing it not knowing its own nature forgetting its own nature identifying only with the ego and through that with the body and mind thinks of itself as the doer and then is trapped yes yes yes certainly but remember first of all make a little distance between you the person that you the person is that a hyung Carter I am a good person I am a bad person did I do the best I did not do my best all of that is a hyung Cara as witness consciousness pure consciousness you are you are separate from this it's like looking at your mirror with your face reflected in it that is separate from you then consider using the same mind and intellect what was done and see what was I could do any better if it can can't be done better pray to the Lord for the welfare of that person you need not worry so much about it an interesting story Swamy Torian energy was in Banaras and this this has been recorded by Swami Vasu they one and another monk who was very very learn it he's written this Bhagavad Gita translated Shankar's commentary into Bengali with a lot of additional notes it's published by would go them in Bengali he was very very with antics so he wanted to like very good receptacle for the teachings of turian and she who was very non-dualistic himself one day to reality told swami Vasu they went under always try to know yourself as the non doings in a non toward the self which is not an not a doer not an agent of action and then do work and then Vasu d1z said how is that possible if you're doing work you always feel that I am doing this work so agent ship is always there in three Angie says then take up some attitude particular attitude what does he mean attitude I am the servant of the Lord and the doer if I'm a servant and still I still have the feeling of doing it but then you take up that attitude I am serving with the Lord so as a as the servant of the Lord I am eager to do work as worship that way you can do it now Swami Vasu they went to spend some time seriously thinking about it how can one be the not doer and began to get an idea that I am the witness of all of this and bodies working mind is working even the ego is also feeling that I am working but I am the awareness which is the witness of all of this and you will say yeah some of your nodding yes that's what you're taught that's what was being taught right yes but here is the problem one day he was using a pestle to grind spices in the kitchen and I'm sure he was thinking about bed anthro it's not a good idea when you're hammering something with the pestle and thinking about Vedanta and he hit his thumb and he shouted off and immediately ran to Swami Torian under swami see the travail the problem the samskaras of the mind I have understood what you said and I agree with you that I am the non doing awareness but when the pestle hit my thumb I shouted oof I feel I have hit myself I am suffering and the one who hit myself I am the one who is in pain and I am the one who shouted oof the Swami said ah but it's the mind which shouted oh and you are the witness of that mind too it is the mind which is the doer you are not the doer he says let it be so let let that F come also that will take time - but even if this it is an important point to reach that level of detachment and serenity where we are not affected by physical pain or serious troubles in my life it takes a lot of time but even before that if one has the attitude when one begins to see in me the field of awareness this sharp pain came and automatically the mind reacted by saying oh it hurt the mind reacted and all of this is being lit up by mainly unchanging awareness if this much understanding is there that's also very good what will happen is it will help your recovery immediately this the sorrow and the misery and the reactions from what the world is throwing at you those will be much less already at our level do you see what I'm trying to say just that much understand that also can help help a lot but be careful yeah this is a small ouch they can be very big problems in life where everyone may feel overwhelmed but again after that big wave has passed when you use this understanding the beauty of this understanding is it's a direct reporting of the truth is this is the fact once you see this she noticed that yes the one which did the action and one which suffered that action and the suffering the doing and the suffering that came and that went that was not there earlier was there for an instant and is gone now and there's a memory also but I was aware of its absence in the beginning I was aware of its presence that flash of pain I am aware of the memory of that pain I'm aware of the reaction and the fading away of the reaction that awareness is constant and that I am I am not affected by the ups and downs of the agent of the ahamkara body ages the hyung Cara says I am growing old body gets wrinkles I am wrinkled body gets then the mind gets depression I am so sad and mine gets elated at something nice happening and wonderful I'm excited our Swami in Houston is humorous you know he says at berapa ng he says if you look at the advertisements some new cereal has come out and we look at the people who are eating the cereal wow I'm so excited wonderful this is fantastic and he says no no there's no food in the world which can honestly give you that reactions nothing really gives no food no cereal can actually make you so excited that would be very strange person who gets so excited over receive you so I am unaffected by these ups and downs so he says a hunk are of a more ethnic automata Monyetta the one who is deluded by Ankara and thinks it of himself as the doer and gets caught in samsara the witness is not God maybe know ourselves as the witness to that extent itself our recovery from suffering is much faster recovery means internal recovery body will continue sickness will come and go and one day the body itself will go one person see ashtavakra says that you know what the attitude of a person who has understood that I am the witness consciousness the attitude should be this is an advice to somebody who is actually critically ill ashtavakra the advice should be would be let death come today honestly let it come today or let me recover from the illness and live for up to a hundred years I'm perfectly alright with both would be wonderful if you could do that you can do it I mean it's in fact a fact the witness consciousness the Sakshi is perfectly alright with both it really has nothing to do with the body dying out out of illness now or even with the body recovering from the illness and living for 40 more years witness consciousness is neither increased by living for 40 more in years it not diminished by dying today the consciousness does not die nor does the consciousness live on with the body this thing because we are unaware of ourselves as this immortal being isness such means isness it has no birth no death because we are unaware of that nature thus at nature the pure being nature of our self we have what is called clinging to life we want to live in this body when sad to put it in very brief in hindi and upnishads Roop konohana Oscar nom hey Gigi vicious GTV shamans desire to live as a body obnoxious Swarup konohana not knowing yourself as awareness it leads to Jigyasa the desire to know things in the world piecemeal little more and more there's no end to knowing and by the time you have completed University of forgotten what you learnt in school and by the time you have finished you all you are learning and read all all these books and papers and everything then old age comes memory starts dropping out you begin to forget with what you've accumulated after 40 years of learning in life for a person whose whole life is in that it's tragedy it's like a multi-millionaire who loses everything in a waltz in a Wall Street stock market crash whatever I worked for in my life my joy my wealth gone oh how terrible whatever I worked for in my life all these things I learned I memorized I studied I understood one great philosopher once told me had a stroke he said Swami I'm so depressed a great philosopher Indian philosophy Vedanta Naya Western philosophy phenomenology and so on it's for me I am feeling depressed why I can't remember and I'm I can't catch it I am NOT as quick as I used to be so you don't need a stroke for that old age will do that to you if my investment is in that but that is my identity terrible then I'm losing that but you know yourself as this witness consciousness you are the witness of the keen memory and the witness of the failing memory the witness of extraordinary good health a witness of failing health in the body absolutely that witness is not affected at all not even the least that distinction if it becomes clear regression Vivek says under drishya your Veda huh inside yourself inside yourself means not physically inside if you physically look inside the body you'll find more body in flesh and blood and bones inside yourself means in your own experience your experiment what we are having now seeing hearing smelling tasting touching if you examine that experience the distinction between what is experienced and the illumining consciousness that distinction the little gap that is very valuable that's what krishna is pointing towards yes so this is the unenlightened person getting diluted by ahankara gets caught in samsara then what does the enlightened person do next time Shanti Shanti Shanti he he he Shri Krishna [Music]